Bob le Flambeur

Jean-Pierre Melville
1956

One of the weaker Melville pictures I've seen to date, "Bob Le Flambeur" is mostly a slapdash of gangster film cliches with a steadfast reverence for style and "honor amongst thieves." Our titular gambler cuts a dashing figure, impeccably dressed, and topped with a silver coiffure, he lives by night throwing away money in games of chance. Thanks to a longstanding losing streak the normally noble Bob is compelled to mastermind a casino heist - the proverbial "final score." For the most part the story plods along predictably with a protege, a police friend, and an underworld snitch, but Melville does a solid job of capturing a sense of place: his Montmartre and Pigalle are as much a part of the film as it's hoods. The picture's greatest asset is the inclusion of a carefree libertine, young and blonde, rapidly integrating herself into a sleazy world of loose morals and cheap thrills. Bob does his best to set her right (gallantry would come natural to this kind of character), but the tart is oblivious to the warnings, taking him for another in a long line of sugar daddies. This complex father/daughter/lover relationship is far more rewarding than the heist itself, muted in tension and disappointing in conclusion. For my money I find the similarly themed "Touchez pas au Grisbi" (1954) to be far superior.